


A Stranger's Stare

by sonali_n_joshi



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Attempt at Humor, Friendship, Gen, M/M, Male Friendship, One Shot, Short One Shot, short fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-02
Updated: 2015-01-02
Packaged: 2018-03-04 22:35:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3094280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonali_n_joshi/pseuds/sonali_n_joshi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean wondered when he had become such a creep or whether he was simply born with stalker-ish tendencies. He wasn’t sure and he found he didn’t even care.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Stranger's Stare

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks a ton for my lovely beta, castielsbee. She was an awesome help and title was her suggestion :D
> 
> Also on FF.net.

* * *

It was a warm afternoon with clear skies and not a cloud littered itself among the blue mass. Classes had just let out, and Dean was waiting in the cramped parking lot for his little brother, Sammy. Sam was taking longer than usual, so Dean decided he'd sit atop the hood of his sleek black car and watch as people pass by. He owned a 1967 Chevrolet Impala, which was a gift he got from his father on his eighteenth birthday. The car used to belong to his father and he had often dreamed of the day when his father would pass the beauty to him.

Sam was still in junior college but he took his studies more seriously than Dean did and sometimes stayed for extra studies. Huffing out an impatient sigh, Dean unconsciously began to play with the phone in his hand. He was about to call Sam again to ask how much more he had to wait when he saw it happen.

A boy about his age with messy dark hair stumbled and fell flat on his face. He supposed it wasn't a surprise that the boy fell with the weight he was carrying. His bag slung over his shoulder slipped forward and fell right on his head. His cellphone he was squinting at and a few books he was holding went sprawling, pages flying out of them.

He sighed when he saw people tittering at the boy's misfortune and he couldn't help his own chuckle. It was a sight to see after all. He thought about going to help but saw the guy adjust his bag, collect his phone and books, and stood up to dust himself. He looked at the ground for few seconds, patted his things for remaining smears of dirt, and went about his way as if nothing had happened. With his phone back in his hand and squinting at it,  _again_.

' _That guy is a disaster waiting to happen'_ , Dean thought. Luckily, he saw Sam coming his way and was spared from waiting any longer. As soon as they got in and buckled up, he pulled his car out of parking lot and college grounds, taking the familiar road towards his home.

...

The next time Dean saw the guy was a week later. He was on lunch break from his lectures and was standing by the water fountain, waiting for his friends. He was at the one end of the corridor and saw the guy coming down the stairs with two other boys on his either side. One was slightly taller than him with blonde hair and other was a bit short in comparison with honey colored hair.

Everything else was soon forgotten as he found his stare returned by the dark-haired guy and all he could see was blue. His eyes were  _so_   _blue_! The guy was looking at him with same squint he had seen the first time, his brows drawn together. It was a fleeting stare and then the guy had gone back to whatever conversation he was having with the other two boys.

Since it was a casual Saturday, students didn't have to wear the stupid uniform their college had decided for different grades and he couldn't tell which grade the guy was in. Sometimes he really hated that his college was a private one. He looked about the same age, so he has to be a graduate student like Dean. He was in his final year and wondered how he had never seen the guy last year. Or for the past three years before that when he was an undergraduate student.

He was pulled from his thoughts by his friends' arrival. While talking about how one of their professors was boring as hell, they all headed toward cafeteria.

...

After that second time, Dean kept seeing the guy more and more. Sometimes he was alone or with the same two guys he had seen before. He had found out that he was in the same grade as Dean but with different major. And almost all the time, the guy had his phone in his hand; either doing whatever the hell he did with it or just simply holding it. It felt weird to Dean. Surely, the guy didn't need his phone constantly?

Another thing Dean noticed that the guy never smiled. It wasn't like he was some depressed kind of person. He saw him laughing plenty of times but never really smiling. It was a strange thing to notice but he did anyway. His usual expression remained a constant mask of indifference, always squinting with brows drawn together.

He didn't know why but he wanted to see the guy smile. Not his awkward attempt at smiling he had seen sometimes as his lips twitched faintly. Again, a strange to thing to notice but he did anyway. Dean wondered when he had become such a creep or whether he was simply born with stalker-ish tendencies. He wasn't sure and he found he didn't even care.

It seemed like the guy didn't mind Dean staring as many times as he did. In fact, he found his stare returned. He looked at Dean with the same indifference but his eyes spoke volumes. Each time his stare showed different emotions. Coldness, recognition, disinterest, surprise, curiosity, amusement, familiarity.

Dean nowadays looked forward to these silent conversations.

...

It had been few months since the 'incident' as Dean liked to call it – the day he saw the blue eyed guy. Today, he was late for first lecture and was running up the stairs to his lecture hall. As soon as he reached the top stair, he lost his footing and bumped into someone. He ended up falling unceremoniously, taking the person down with him.

' _Great'_ , he thought,  _'already late and now this'_. He scrambled to his feet and started to apologize when he saw who he had knocked down.

"You!" he exclaimed and immediately felt stupid for it. It was  _the_   _guy_.

And they were staring, again. He could feel his cheeks heat up with embarrassment.

"Me", came the calm reply. And holy shit, his voice was sounded like gravel; just the right amount of deep without grating on your ears.

"Hey.. hi.." he started, again, "um.. I'm sorry, man! I didn't mean to knock into you. I just slipped, and –"

He was interrupted by the guy, "It's fine."

Blinking for a moment, Dean composed himself and held out his hand for the guy to shake, "I'm Dean."

The guy looked at his outstretched hand for a moment before he took it and replied, "My name is Castiel."

"So, Cas, seeing as I'm already late for my class, I'm gonna skip. Wanna hang out with me?" he asked. He was too late to rush, now, and his grouchy professor wasn't going to let him in ten minutes late. He saw the guy – no,  _Castiel_  – nod. So Dean casually draped his arm over his shoulder and turned them towards cafeteria.

As they were walking, Dean saw it happen. Cas' lips started twitching and slowly, very slowly, they stretched into a gentle smile and Dean could swear he was the luckiest person to see such a beautiful sight.

* * *

**Thoughts?**

 


End file.
